Charles rolled the wheelchair down
the hall towards the kitchen, smiling to himself at the sound of
laughter audible even from his study. Whatever was going on had been
happening for the better part of ten minutes. Though tempted to
borrow Raven for a quick peek, he’d resisted to go find out for
himself.

When he rolled into the kitchen,
Charles blinked a few times and then chuckled, joining the general
fray of good humor. Hank was dressed as Santa, the red of his velvet
suit clashing horribly with his blue fur. Raven had transformed
herself into an actual elf, complete with pointy hat, and Erik was
bedecked with all manner of glass and metal tree ornaments even with
nothing to hold them in place. The kids, their first official class
at the academy, were hollering out various requests like, “Empire
State Building!” and “Eiffel Tower!” and several
metal filaments shaped together to form whatever was being asked for
in turn. Seven of the kids had no homes to return to over the
holidays, or at all, so they were all trying to make things as
festive as possible.

No child should have to face
being alone and unwanted at any time, Charles had said firmly to
his friends a few weeks earlier, but especially at Christmas.

It really hadn’t taken any
persuasion, although this was... unexpected.

Erik caught his gaze, blue eyes
twinkling from across the room. “And there he is, the man of
the hour.”

Seven pairs of eyes turned his way,
all beseeching, and Charles blinked a couple of times before saying,
“Um, hello?”

He was immediately swarmed by the
children shrieking for stories and let out a laugh. “All right,
all right. Into the living room with you savages, I’ll be along
directly. Go on!”

Once they were gone, the decorations
and metal shifted from midair and on Erik to the table. Raven morphed
back into her usual blue self and Hank immediately started pulling
off the Santa suit.

Smiling broadly, Charles asked, “And
what brought all this on? Not that I’m complaining.”

Erik walked over to him and bent to
kiss him; first on the lips and then the top of his head as he
straightened back up. “It’s been snowing for hours,
Charles. We had to do something to keep them occupied.”

“Sean and Alex can’t
make it back from the city,” Raven continued. “They
called a couple of hours ago while you were on the phone with Moira.
All the roads are blocked.”

Startled, Charles looked out the
kitchen window where he saw the heavy snow coming down even in the
dark. “My goodness. Well, thank you so much for revving them up
for story time. I appreciate that.”

Erik chuckled, a warm sound that did
evil things to Charles’ newly returned libido. “You are
very welcome. Try and keep them busy for at least an hour while we
finish wrapping presents.”

Charles shook his head fondly and
said, “Very well. Hank. You can help.”

Hank sighed. “I have an
experiment at a delicate stage, Professor.”

“You always do. Come along,”
Charles ordered, wheeling around and heading for the living room.

The months following the disastrous
confrontation on a Cuban beach had been terrifically difficult for
everyone. Charles had been too engrossed in his purely physical
recovery to ease the tension between his friends. It was entirely
likely that if Erik had left with the other mutants that day, instead
of bringing him to a hospital, the divide would have been uncrossable
and permanent. Thankfully, his feelings for Charles had outweighed
the need to continue his vendetta against the purely human. Now,
almost six months after that day, they were all one team.

On a purely selfish level, Charles
was still desperately glad that Erik had stayed and gotten him to a
hospital so quickly. The doctors had said several times that if he'd
been much longer without treatment, he would have definitely been
paralyzed. Permanently.

Charles decided on Dickens, which
was a classic at any time but especially Christmas. He not only did
the voices slightly different for each character, but used his powers
to subtly convey the mood of the book. Every child, even the two
thirteen year old twins who were already vicious little things like
all teenagers, was thoroughly captivated by A Christmas Carol.
It was closer to three hours later that he finished and he was
relieved that even though the story had enthused them all, they were
no longer bordering on hyperactive.

“All right, everyone. Hot
cocoa and then bedtime! Santa needs time to come and drop of your
presents, but he won’t if you’re still awake,”
Raven said from the doorway.

Charles smiled at her over the
groans of the children and added, “That’s entirely
correct. And if you don’t want your presents, I know I want
mine.”

They all filed out of the living
room and back to the kitchen where the hot cocoa had already been
made and Hank was pouring into mugs. Erik had disappeared somewhere,
but Charles could vaguely sense him lurking. There was a general air
of smugness to the sense of him which had Charles smiling; as did the
children’s antics as they were ‘forced’ to go to
bed early. He let Raven and Hank herd them to the dormitory on the
second floor and rolled towards the bedroom that he and Erik shared
on the first.

His body was taking a long time to
recover from the bullet, but it was recovering. Every day, Charles
had more sensation below the waist and while it wasn’t enough
to walk yet, they had hopes that one day it would. The surgeons and
spinal experts had all said that the amount of feeling he’d so
far regained was already a miracle and Charles was determined to
prove them all that he would walk again. Of course, if this was the
best he got, if he really was confined to a wheelchair the rest of
his life, Charles considered the sacrifice worth it. His legs for
keeping Erik in his life and from waging war with humanity.

Small price, he silently
repeated for about the thousandth time.

The door was open only a crack,
which was unusual, and Charles pushed it open the rest of the way
calling out, “I hope you’re decent because I… oh
my.”

Numerous candles flickered all over
the room and a fire had been kindled, lending added warmth to the
light. A thick rug had been put before the fire, as had many pillows
and blankets, forming a kind of nest. A bottle of wine and two wine
glasses stood nearby on a tray.

Erik hopped up from the floor and
turned to him with a small smile. “I am decent, but only for
you.”

Charles smiled back at him and said,
“I beg to differ, my friend. You are a thoroughly decent man
regardless of my benefit.”

Erik’s mood dimmed, but only
momentarily. He cleared his throat and said, “I thought we’d
spend the night together. Raven and Hank are officially on duty all
night. No interruptions and no emergencies unless the world is
literally falling apart.”

Charles closed the door and rolled
further into the room. “Is that so?”

“It is,” Erik said
firmly. “I haven’t had you to myself in weeks.”

Charles wanted to protest, but the
sorry fact was that it was true. Between running the school, dealing
with Moira and the CIA while keeping them from finding out where they
were, and scheduling rescue missions for vulnerable mutants, he
hardly had two minutes to himself, let alone to spend with Erik. He
gave his lover and apologetic smile and said, “I’ve been
neglecting you shockingly.”

Erik walked over to him.“You
can make it up to me.”

Charles lifted his arms as Erik bent
down, wrapping them around his neck as he slid arms under Charles to
pick him up. The other man's strength still astounded and aroused him
and Charles pressed his lips to the curve of Erik's throat.

Erik gently lowered him to the nest
of bedding and then followed him down, taking Charles' mouth in a
long, slow kiss. Charles hummed in pure pleasure, opening his mouth
and sliding his tongue against Erik's. One of Erik's hands rubbed
over his abs as he deepened the kiss hungrily.

Charles didn't have to be a telepath
to know exactly what his lover wanted and found himself on the same
page. He broke the kiss and said, “Fuck me, love. Take me until
I can't do anything but feel you coming in me.”

Erik shuddered, his arousal
ratcheting even higher at the dirty word. It amused Charles that the
other man had this pristine image of him; he'd been known to turn the
air blue back in university.

“How do you want me?”
Charles asked, rubbing Erik through his pants.

Erik's pupils expanded and his
breathing quickened at the caress. “I want you on your back so
I can see you, but we shouldn't yet. Not until you're better. Let me
undress you and then turn on your side.”

Charles nodded and let him do the
work. At first he'd thought Erik insisted on taking such good care of
him out of guilt for the ricochet and refused to let him do anything.
Once he'd realized that it was because he was so grateful that
Charles was still alive at all, he'd relented.

Erik undressed himself first, taking
his time and revealing skin at his own damnably slow pace. Charles
bit his lip in anticipation as he watched and felt himself begin to
harden, the connection between them new enough to make him sigh in
pleasure. This, the sharing of his heart along with his body, was
something Erik hadn't shared with anyone else and he treasured every
moment. He finally stood nude before Charles, his cock mostly hard
and jutting out from his body.

Kneeling, Erik's hands gently roamed
over Charles as he unbuttoned the dress shirt and then caressed his
chest. It was a lot more defined that it had been before the bullet
and Charles was somewhat proud of how he'd adapted to his changed
circumstances.

“Schön,” Erik
murmured, bending to kiss across his chest. He lingered on a nipple,
sucking and then biting it sharply.

Charles gasped, arching into the
contact, even as he blushed at the compliment. Erik had taken to
calling him 'beautiful' in German, as if that made it any less
significant. He cupped Erik's face and pulled him up for more
kissing, sighing into it and greedily taking all he wanted. They
kissed for a long time, Erik stretched out beside him, and Charles'
lips tingled, well-used, by the time Erik drew back.

A smile briefly touched Erik's
swollen mouth and he said, “You need to not be so distracting.”

Charles smiled broadly in return and
said, a bit breathlessly, “Never. Not if it gets me more of the
same.”

Erik chuckled, that wicked sound,
and pulled back entirely. “You will get far more than that, my
friend.”

Somehow, 'my friend' had become so
much more between them; an endearment that never failed to skip
Charles' heart. It was as though he couldn't get enough of the love
on offer. It frightened him a bit, sometimes, just how much he needed
Erik.

Erik swiftly divested him of the
rest of his clothes, tossing them aside and immediately settling
between Charles' legs. His dick had sluggishly responded to all the
stimuli, emotional and physical, but was still only halfway there.
Charles almost choked on a moan when Erik took him into his mouth and
began lavishing attention on him there. Even though it felt muted, he
felt it, the wet heat surrounding him more and more as Erik
went down on him further.

It was a long, torturous rising that
had Charles groaning in short order. When Erik's finger rubbed
against his hole, a shudder of need cut through him and he gasped,
“Yes, oh please, yes, Erik!”

Erik pulled off his shaft and
reached for a bottle of oil he'd already laid close to their
makeshift bed. Charles watched eagerly as Erik slicked up his
fingers, wanting far more than just his fingers inside him. Erik
caught his gaze and grinned, scolding, “Greedy thing. Patience,
isn't that what you're always telling me?”

Charles made an impatient noise.
“Elsewhere, yes. Just, fuck me!”

Erik growled in response and
returned to sucking on him while his finger rubbed at Charles'
opening. It wasn't longer before he felt a finger push inside,
testing, and then swiftly joined by another. Erik took his time in
this, too, and unfortunately Charles couldn't demand he speed up.
Since he couldn't yet feel everything there, they had to be careful.

Charles moaned when Erik massaged
his prostate, feeling every pass of that still-sensitive nerve
cluster. Finally, two fingers became three twisting carefully inside
him and Erik released Charles' now-aching cock from his mouth.

“Shift, Charles,” Erik
murmured.

But Charles really wanted to kiss
him and suddenly had another idea. He pushed upright and said, “No,
wait. Pull me onto your lap, my legs over yours. I'll take some of
the weight with my arms around you.”

Erik's eyes lit with happiness as he
understood what Charles meant. It took some maneuvering, but Charles
ended up in position, facing Erik, and sinking slowly onto his
lover's cock as they kissed. It was messy and perfect. Charles wished
that he could just ride Erik until he lost control, but that would
have to wait for another day. Right now he was grateful to be able to
kiss and feel and fuck and just have Erik with him in every way.

Charles' head fell back as he felt
Erik's cock driving into him, molding their bodies together. His
fingers dug into Erik's shoulders and he held on tight while they
kissed, licking and biting at every bit of Erik he could get.

Moaning into his mouth, Erik's
thrusts inside him turned ragged very quickly. Charles risked taking
an arm off his shoulders to reach down and stroke himself. Orgasm
hovered so close and he knew Erik was also close, felt him beginning
to fray and reach for his mind instinctively. They were always in
contact, but like this, the visceral need churned through them both
and Charles greedily took all that Erik had to give.

Erik cried out when he came, pumping
hard into Charles and then clutching to him, keeping himself buried,
aided by gravity, and planting his seed so deep. Charles shuddered
violently as he came, spurting between them and biting so hard on
Erik's lower lip that he broke the skin and tasted blood. Their minds
delved as deep as their bodies and he couldn't separate them, didn't
want to.

Charles lost himself in the pleasure
of Erik's mind for some time. When they at last parted, he found them
lying down again and Erik's cock had long since fallen from his body.
Enough time had gone by that he was somewhat cleaner, too, which
meant Erik had already wiped them down. He sighed regretfully at the
loss and then met Erik's gaze, which was on him avidly. Smiling,
Charles murmured, “Thank you, love.”

Erik kissed him sweetly and then
pulled one of the blankets over them.

Charles snuggled close and drifted
to sleep to the beat of his lover's heart.